A ballistic vest is an item of personal armor that helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions, and is worn on the torso of an individual. Ballistic vests may include soft body armor made from multiple layers of woven or laminated fibers in addition to a metal or ceramic plate that provides additional protection from rifle rounds. Although such ballistic vests are suitable to protect the individual from most ballistic projectile impacts, there are certain impacts that occur when the trajectories of the ballistic projectiles are at an angle and impact the peripheral edge of the ballistic plate, which can cause side spall or back face deformation. Back face deformation occurs when the ballistic projectile impacts the ballistic plate and causes the backside of the ballistic plate to deform or bulge outwardly. Side spall occurs when the ballistic projectile impacts the peripheral area of the ballistic plate such that shrapnel from the ballistic projectile impact and/or debris of material from the impacted portion of the ballistic plate can potentially penetrate the soft body armor and injure the individual. Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art ballistic vest 10 is shown that illustrates the side spall 16 that occurs when a ballistic projectile impacts the ballistic plate 14 along the peripheral area 18 of the ballistic plate 14. As the ballistic projectile impacts the peripheral area 18 of the ballistic plate 14, the side spall 16 and back face deformation 15 from the ballistic projectile can cause debris from the ballistic plate 14 as well as shrapnel from the ballistic projectile to penetrate or deform the backside 20 of the ballistic plate 14, which can potentially injure the individual wearing the prior art ballistic vest 10. As such, there is a need for further improvements that enhance the protection provided by a ballistic vest including protection from side spall and back face deformation to the peripheral area of the ballistic plate.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding elements among the various views of the drawings. The headings used in the figures should not be interpreted to limit the scope of the claims.